We cannot earn or work for our Salvation. It is the Gift of God. That Gift was provided for us on Calvary's Cross! All we have to do is recognize our great need of The Saviour, repent of our sins and accept Him into our hearts and lives and live for Him each day. We will have peace with God in this life, and a home in Heaven with Jesus forever.

He is Risen Indeed!

Good Friday was filled with death and darkness!

So what's good about it you ask?

The answer?God's Boundless Love!

Hear all about it in the 2 part (14 minutes each) radio broadcasts below!

0054_Gods Boundless Love-Part 1-Rms. 5.6-8.mp3

0055_Gods Boundless Love-Part 2-Rms. 5.6-8.mp3

Jesus cried out, "It is finished!"

As we celebrate Easter this year, I would invite you to consider for a
few minutes the “Finished Work” of Christ on the Cross of Calvary. But, was it really finished?....Can we be certain that it was?

The Bible makes it clear that our sin separates us from God and the penalty for sin is eternal death. But God has provided the way for us to be reconciled to Him.

But how could that be? It is by simply acknowledging our sin, seeking His forgiveness through faith in the life, death, burial and resurrection of God's beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who willingly took our place on the Cross to conquer sin and death once for all.

What an amazing truth! We cannot purchase or earn our Salvation ...it is the Gift of God based upon the "finished work of Christ" on the Cross.

(Read John 19:28-30,33)

Today we want to focus on Vs. 30.

Vs. 30 of John 19 records Jesus’ words, “It is finished.” But what was meant by these three brief words? The word “finish” (teleo) means to accomplish, complete, discharge, execute or pay fully.

It does not mean simply to terminate or bring something to an end—but to carry out to the full!

Certainly several aspects are worthy of our consideration here.....

First of all, upon entering His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus had prayed, “Father, thy will be done.” And now truly the Father’s will had been fully accomplished.

Every precise detail from the thirty pieces of silver, to the scourging, the piercing of his hands and feet and side, the dividing of His garments, the thirst and vinegar offered—everything to the minutest detail had been “finished” and completed.

But secondly, all the OT ceremonial laws and obligations were now “finished.” The law revealed to us that we were in great need because we could not keep the law perfectly and we were therefore lost in our sins and needed saving from it's penalty--spiritual death!

We had a debt we could not pay! But now the law was complete, fulfilled and done away with because they were only a shadow of what was to be accomplished through Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death. Christ paid our debt in full!

Sin and the penalty for sin was also “finished” or done away with since an everlasting righteousness is now imputed (or credited) to all who receive Christ by faith as their personal Lord and Savior.

And once Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us—nothing can undo that “finished work.” We are eternally secure in Christ and we begin to live a life in loving obedience to the one who sacrificed His own life and bore God’s wrath for our sins. He took our place on that Cross!

And then, the suffering of our Lord, was now completely “finished.” Never would He suffer again. Never would another sacrifice ever have to be offered—the work of our redemption was complete!

We finally note that in full control of every aspect of His life and His death, Jesus then bowed His head and “gave up his spirit.” No one took His life from him. Jesus willingly surrendered his life. He did not die until all was finished.

And He did not live one suffering moment after all was accomplished. In fact Scripture tells us that it was somewhat unusual that He would have died so quickly.

In fact, sometimes the legs of people dying on a cross were broken so they could no longer lift themselves up to take another breath and thereby hasten their death. And they did in fact break the legs of the other two men.

But we see in verse 33 that when they came to our Lord they found he was already dead. Therefore not a bone in His body was broken—and thus another prophecy was fulfilled even after his death.

Yes “it is finished” was our Lord’s cry—and what a blessing those three words are to us today who have fully accepted Christ. If we have done that we are free from punishment; we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ—all because Hefinished the course all the way to Calvary and rose again to life the third day!

May we never fail to give Him thanks, and may we never take lightly this time of “remembrance” as we gather together, worship and reflect upon what Jesus accomplished for us on the Cross.YES, "It is finished!" Hallelujah!

Excerpt from Breaking of Bread service by Ross Howlett

SACRIFICIAL LOVE

At this Easter season we think of Love and God's Sacrifice on our behalf. He died for our sins that we might have Eternal Life. He Who knew no sin, became sin for us and took our punishment. That Life is offered as a free gift! Will you accept that Gift?

Here's a short 13 minute radio program about a present day sacrifice of love and what it means to us today. Be blessed and share it with your friends. Have a blessed Easter. Blessings, FHLM Staff

Click start button on white radio to listen to this

amazing Interview......

03 Sacrificial Love.mp3

Did you enjoy this program? Tweet it ....

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WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB!

"The Gift"

You can listen &/or just read this special devotional.

Washed in the Blood of The Lamb 6 Minutes pg54-55.mp3

It was a place whose name

spoke of death and evil.

It was stained with the blood of both the guilty and the innocent. This place was the epitome of the world’s most notorious seat of torture and hate. And today, evil reached its pinnacle as a thick veil of heavy darkness shrouded the hill of Golgotha, known as “the Place of the Skull.”

Indeed, the darkest night had fallen over this place, yet it was still the middle of the day. Truly this gruesome hill was not the picture of love, or rest, or peace or hope. That is—not until today!

But He Who was all of these lovely virtues hung lifeless and forsaken on Golgotha’s cross. To many it appeared that the Lord Jesus Christ had been silenced and the Light of the world extinguished forever.

How much more the added impact of hopelessness would now be felt in the midst of this unexplained blackness. It was impossibleto grope or move about safely, or to breathe—the air was so thick. Everyone was surrounded by these wild elements, yet Almighty God was in complete control. Forced to turn His face away from His beloved Son, God poured out His wrath upon sin, indeed, upon the sins of the whole world—my sin and your sin—all was laid upon Jesus who knew no sin. What unspeakable agony!

The eerie darkness filled hearts with terrible dread. The earth continued to rumble. Earth-quakes shook the ground until the graves of dead men, finally, gave up their treasure to God.

And then, at last it seemed quiet and a sense of stillness crept over the place, as if the world was holding its breath. Ancient prophecies had been completed and fulfilled. Victory over sin anddeath had been won, once and for all. It was over.

I imagined in my heart that all of Heaven must have wept bitterly. Although the following scene was the creation of a screenwriter’s imagination, God used it to awaken my tired heart to realize afresh the great depth of God’s Love for me. His sacrificial provision to redeem my lost soul cost Him everything.

In one of Hollywood’s made-for-television films, the scene was portrayed dramatically as the rains descended and flowed down the wooden stake that held the body of the beloved Christ, the Saviour of the world. Rolling thunder, frightening displays of sheet lightning and bolts of fierce electricity seared through the sky—air to ground, ground to air—making the heavens seem alive with an indescribable power.

As I watched, the flow of rain washed over the Cross and the bloodstained body of my dear Saviour, His blood so willingly shed and His life so lovingly given—His life for mine, for yours. It drained down to the ground, pooled at the foot of the Cross, breaking over its hill as if washing over my own feet and finally disappeared beyondthe embankment. In that exact moment, I cried out in anguish.

My heart was breaking as I choked back the tears, overwhelmed afresh with love and gratitude. I prayed, “Thank you, dear Jesus, for truly washing me in the Blood of the Lamb, for cleansing me and for forgiving me of all my sins. Thank you for making me Your child.”

I cried like a lost child, remembering what it was like to have been rescued from the dark. I had seen my deep need of a Saviour, confessed my sin and given my heart to Jesus so many years ago. I had become a brand new person with a new purpose for my life. But tonight, although I cried until I was spent, I was at peacebecause I was filled with His love.

This ugly Place of the Skull was Calvary, but for me it was a place that had been completely transformed. My sin had been forever conquered. Truly the Gift of Life was offered to all, but I also knew that Jesus died in my place—the very place where I should have been—and now I owed my life to Him. But that was only the beginning. The Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and He is seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you and for me today.

The Bible says “now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). But are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Dear one, will you also accept the Gift He has purchased for you with His ownlifeblood? Oh, what a Gift! What a Saviour! What a Salvation! Indeed, He is The Gift of Life!

If you do not yet know Him as your own personal Lord and Saviour, then please don’t put this decision off any longer. Remember, Jesus loved you enough to die for you, and He rose upfrom the dead to give each of us New Life—Eternal Life!

Now, because He lives, we can sing that dear old hymn with new joy and great vigour, “Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?”—and you will be able to answer with complete certainty, “Yes!”